Doctor Who: 14 Cool Details James Moran Just Revealed About The Fires Of Pompeii

14. Coming Up With A Reason For The Doctor To Visit Pompeii Was Tricky

While the Doctor loves bumping into a spot of danger every now and then, he doesn't exactly have a death wish, which originally made it tricky for Moran to decide why the character would willingly go to Pompeii on volcano day.

The solution? Simple. He doesn't go willingly.

Moran ultimately settled on the idea that the Doctor lands in Pompeii accidentally, after intending to take Donna on a trip to ancient Rome.

This retroactively ties in with a concept that was explored in the Matt Smith episode The Doctor's Wife, in which the TARDIS says that it doesn't always take the Doctor where he wants to go, but it does always take him where he needs to go.

While Moran obviously didn't know about this concept while writing The Fires of Pompeii, the Doctor's accidental arrival at the site of a volcano eruption can now be explained by saying that the TARDIS decided to take him there.